


The Heart Shaped Rock

by MelindaTheCavalryMay



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Family Fluff, Philinda AU Challenge, leo and Skye are kids
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-21
Updated: 2015-06-21
Packaged: 2018-04-05 10:55:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4177185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelindaTheCavalryMay/pseuds/MelindaTheCavalryMay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Phil Coulson is tired of being in the limelight and decides to take a stroll by the beach where he meets Melinda May and the possibility of something new happens.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Heart Shaped Rock

**Author's Note:**

> Don't own AoS or Marvel. Just a huge fan. Would love to hear your reviews though.

Phil Coulson loved sitting by the shore, looking at the vast expanse of the ocean at night. It calmed his mind, gave him a sense of peace and he always felt rejuvenated after doing so.  
He had such a stressful life, a life which was always under public scrutiny; it’s not that he didn’t like it. He loved the attention he used to get from his fans, it always felt great to know there were so many people out there who admired and appreciated what he did.  
He had joined this industry as a writer. Wrote several scripts for stage before he started writing for film and television.  
He really loved writing for television though; the day he was named amongst the top 25 writers of the industry had been undoubtedly the happiest moment in his life.  
Things changed with time however. It was around 3 years back that he had gotten a call from one of the producers of his show, Nick Fury. Phil had expected that he’s be asked by his friend to join their team into the making of this new show but was pleasantly surprised when his friend wanted to cast him in the role of Agent Casper, a leader of a spy organisation running a team of rag tag agents.  
Though he had been a bit hesitant at first, he finally agreed. So here he was 3 seasons later. He loved the attention he got, it was wonderful. Their show had a really awesome bunch of fans. Yet there were moments when he’d wish he could escape, even for a tiny bit amount of time. Just relax, write, read, anything. Anything that didn’t have him being surrounded by cameras. Thus he’d come here as and when he could. Walk by the beach or just sit here. 

“Daddyyyyyyy!!!!” his daughter’s voice and the excitement that it contained broke him from his thoughts and turned around and saw his little angel running towards him. The huge grin on her face, her brown locks flowing in the wind as she ran warmed his heart. She was such a wonderful kid. 

“Hey sunshine! What happened?” Something definitely did happen because the kid had the biggest smile on her face. 

“Look what I found ?” she opened up her palm to reveal a rock she had been carrying, to others it would look like a normal stone but Skye was his daughter, they belonged to a creative family, so he realised what she thought the stone looked like. 

“Wow, it’s beautiful sweety” He replied as he pulled Skye to make her sit beside him. 

“Yeah it looks just like heart doesn’t it daddy?” she looked up at him, waiting for his response. 

“It sure does, where did you find it?” 

“Over there” she replied pointing towards the ocean and added “it was stuck in the sand and the water was coming fast and it was slippery” Skye replied. 

“Skye! You know you shouldn’t go too near to the water without me right?” Phil was extremely protective about her; the 5 year old meant the world to him. 

“I know daddy, I’m a big girl” Skye replied stretching out her hands to indicate how big she was. 

“Don’t worry, I didn’t go there daddy, she did” Skye replied pointing towards the woman who sat by the ocean, looking at it. When Phil glanced to where his daughter pointed, he felt something change. The moonlight casting a faint shadow on her face and even though he could only catch her profile, he wondered if he had ever seen something as beautiful as her. 

“That’s Leo’s mommy dad! She got this pretty rock for me” Skye added. 

“Oh!” Leo’s mommy, that means she must’ve been married. It was wrong for him to feel things he was feeling but he just couldn’t help the butterflies in his stomach. He hadn’t felt like this since Audrey, his ex-wife. Soon after they had Skye, Audrey had gotten a chance to go abroad, fulfil her dreams of being the musician she wanted to. He didn’t want her dropping this opportunity for him, and she didn’t want him to leave everything they had here and come with her. So they separated on amicable terms. Since her job involved a lot of travelling, he got the full custody of Skye and Audrey would visit her every time she was in the country.  
He had missed Audrey, a lot, but time heals everything, he became an actor and everything started feeling normal again, and he had Skye, his bundle of joy, the most important person in his life. 

“Did you thank her Skye?” Phil asked, once again looking at the beautiful woman sitting there. A moment later, a kid with curly brown hair came running to her. She hugged the kid and he sat in front of her, talking expressively. The kid looked approximately as old as Skye. 

“I did daddy! Can we go meet them? Pleeeeaaaasssee?” Skye asked, widening her eyes. She knew her dad won’t ever refuse her. 

“Okay kiddo, we anyways should be getting home” Phil replied standing up. He stretched out his hand for Skye to take, who held on to it as they walked towards Leo and his mum. 

Leopold Fitz was in an animated conversation with his mother, explaining to her about what he learned at his science camp regarding tides. Melinda must’ve heard this same information at least a hundred times till now, yet it seemed fascinating every single time she was told again by him. He loved science and had wanted to become a rocket scientist when he grew up; Melinda was pleasantly surprised when he managed to explain to her perfectly what his career choice would entail. 

A moment later Leo glanced to the side and had this huge grin on his face and he stood up hurriedly. Wiping his hands on his pant he ran towards Skye and this man who was with her and were coming their way. 

May stood up and looked at the pair. The man was somewhere around 50, wore a white shirt and blue jeans. He had a well built structure, so it seemed like he used to work out quite a bit and he had the goofiest possible smile as he walked towards them. She had a strong feeling she had seen this guy somewhere but was unable to remember when. 

“Mum look! Skye’s here” Leo shouted. Melinda gave a smile to him and walked towards them. 

“Hello Skye” Melinda said, stooping down to her knew level to ruffle Skye’s hair. 

“Hello!” Skye replied. She looked so much like the man at this moment; she had the exact same smile. Melinda managed to guess that this must be her dad. 

“Skye! You know Agent Casper?” Leo asked. Clearly shocked and surprised after seeing the man who came with Skye.

Phil couldn’t help but chuckle at his expression. His show Agents of SMASH had been a hit amongst youngsters and kids.

“He’s not Agent Casper, he’s my dad Leo” Skye replied proudly. She knew very well that her dad worked on TV and was an actor; she even used to watch his show. Though she was a bigger fan of Trip than him. She always said “Trip looked dreamy dad” while talking to him. Kids! 

“Hey Leo, I’m Phil, Phil Coulson. I play the role of Agent Casper on SMASH” Phil replied as he held out his hand for Leo to shake. 

Now Melinda remembered where she had seen this guy. Though she never got much time to watch television, with her work and Leo, she was quite familiar with the shows the kid watched and SMASH was one of his favourites. 

“Hello sir” Leo replied and added “I’m a big fan of your show and I love Bruce, he’s so awesome” Bruce Banner was the name of the science head in their show. The fact that this kid loved Bruce was enough for him to realise the kid loved science.

“Oh! Great.. I’ll let Bruce know that” Phil replied smiling. 

“Really?” Leo asked with shocked. 

“Really” Coulson replied back. 

“Awesome! Skye you wanna play?” Leo asked looking back at Skye. 

Skye looked up at her dad asking for permission, they really did have to go, he had an early shoot next day and was a bit tired after a press conference today, but he also wanted to talk to Melinda, he felt nice here, a little more time wouldn’t be that harmful. 

When he nodded Skye rushed and wrapped her arms around him and he hugged her back. She was leaving with Leo when Phil and Melinda said “Stay in sight” together. He looked at Melinda who was smiling at the coincidence. She had a beautiful smile, wonderful, peaceful smile and she had a kid, which meant she was married so he shouldn’t think of her that way, yet he couldn’t help. 

“Thank you for helping out Skye earlier” Phil said, deciding to start the conversation. 

“That’s ok! She’s a wonderful kid” Melinda replied as she sat down on the beach again and Phil decided to join her. 

“Yeah she is” 

After a moment of enjoying silence together. Melinda said “I didn’t know famous people got time to come out and stroll by the beach” 

He chuckled “Well I’m not that famous and it feels great to come out here every once in a while” 

“Well you should tell that to Leo, he will argue unendingly. He absolutely adores you and your show” Melinda said. They were still looking towards the ocean but Phil felt as if they were talking looking into each other’s eyes. It was dark yet he could feel that Melinda had beautiful eyes. 

“The kids are bigger fans of the younger characters” 

“Maybe but I know that Agent Casper being brought back from the dead is the reason this show was made so I guess without Agent Casper the others aren’t there” 

Coulson was surprised. When he had first seen her, she didn’t look like someone who recognised him but now she was talking about his show. 

Noticing his confusion she added “I have atleast heard a thousand explanations as to how Agent Casper came back from the dead, which finally concluded with some serum thing” Melinda replied chuckling. Her laugh sounded as beautiful as she looked. 

“GH-325, that’s the serum’s name” Phil replied. It seemed so good to talk to her, almost like a habit.

“Ok! Don’t be surprised if Leo comes asking whether you actually have that serum inside you, he’s a bit of a science nerd” 

“Yeah I guessed that and don’t worry it doesn’t surprise me” Phil replied. 

“You’re right though” Melinda said after a few minutes passed by. 

“Huh?” Phil asked now looking at her while she continued to look towards the beach. 

“It does always feel good to come here once in a while, relaxing, calm. A great stress relief” 

“Yeah” 

“I’m Melinda by the way” She said looking at him with a smile on her face. 

He realised they had been sitting and chatting for quite a few minutes and she hadn’t even asked her name. What a fool he was! But then his mind wasn’t really working well with her beside him. 

“Oh yeah! I’m Phil Coulson” 

“I know that now” she paused for a moment before adding “Sorry I didn’t recognise you before, my work doesn’t give me much time to know what’s going on in the television and film industry.” 

“That’s ok, it actually feels good to talk to someone who’d rather know you than what you play onscreen” Phil replied. 

“I’m sure limelight is fun, being the centre of attention” Melinda added. 

“I love my work, but being under the public eye for most of my day gets a bit irritating” 

“Aah! So that’s the reason behind coming here at this hour” 

“Yup! And also holidays start from tomorrow, so Skye get’s to stay up a little late tonight” 

“Yeah! The same is with Leo” 

They sat in comfortable silence. But Coulson was curious to know more about her. 

“What do you do?” he asked.  
“I’m a pilot; I used to work for the air-force till 5 years back but not anymore, just commercial airlines now” 

“Wow! That’s awesome” Phil replied, really admired by her reply. He wanted to be a pilot when he was a kid but then he found his true calling in writing and now he was an actor. 

“Why did you leave the air-force?” He asked a moment later, immediately adding “Sorry if I’m interfering too much” 

She chuckled and added “No that’s ok. I... umm.. I was in the air-force till an accident killed my brother and husband. My brother was a single dad, after his death I adopted Leo, he was a baby when that happened, so doesn’t remember his dad or mother well, so he considers me his mum. I couldn’t be a part of the force and handle all this, so with a heavy heart I left that job and took up to becoming a commercial pilot” 

Phil wondered if he had ever admired anyone as much as he admired Melinda at this moment. She was such a brave woman, such a strong woman, yet she looked so delicate. 

“Oh! I know it’s tough being a single parent” he said.

“Yeah?” she asked curiously looking up back at him. 

“My wife ... umm .. We separated a year after Skye was born, she had a great opportunity with her career and I didn’t want to hold her back, so Skye stays with me while she visits whenever she can” 

“You’re doing a wonderful job with Skye” Melinda replied as she looked towards the kids who were running around like nothing else mattered. It was such an innocent sight to see. Heart-warming and wonderful. 

“So are you with Leo” Phil replied while taking in the same sight Melinda was seeing. A moment later he looked back at Melinda. He knew that he was starting to fall for her. She was someone who saw him rather than Agent Casper. She was someone who somewhere he felt like understood him better than anyone had done in a long time. He wanted to get to know her more, spend more time with her. Yet he wasn’t sure if she would like to go out with him, he did have quite a public life after all and she seemed like someone who enjoyed her privacy. 

“We should get going” Melinda said a minute later as she turned to look back at Phil when she realised their face was extremely close to each other. 

“Melinda ... would you? Would you like to go out with me, for a date?” he asked, he could take this risk, if she said no he’d understand but he really wished she wouldn’t. 

When she didn’t reply for a minute he wondered if he’d screw up everything. As a small smile formed on her face his worries got dissipated. Nodding her head she replied “Sure Phil” 

The grin that Phil had on his face warmed her heart and created butterflies in her stomach. They were still very close to each other. She could easily kiss him, but not right now, the moment was too intimate and new for that. She leaned forward and kissed his cheek, lingering there for a few seconds before pulling back and rubbing his cheek with her thumb as if she was getting rid of a lipstick impression there. 

“I know you’re a very private person and my life is quite a bit anything but that, yet I’d like to take you out” He said a moment later, the smile still intact on his face. 

“I’ve already said yes” she replied. 

“You did” his smile turned into a goofier version of the same, he looked cute at that moment. 

“I’ll pick you up in the evening tomorrow?” He asked, he didn’t want to wait long before going on a date with Melinda and he knew that he had an early morning shoot tomorrow and the evening was free. 

“I... my nanny won’t be in town till day after” she replied nervously. 

Phil couldn’t help but chuckle. Irrespective of their work and their feelings for each other, they had 2 kids and their lives revolved around them. 

“It’s ok, my mom’s in town and Skye’s gonna stay with her, she wouldn’t mind taking care of Leo as well” Phil added. 

“You sure? I wouldn’t wanna be a trouble” May looked up at him surprised. 

“I’m sure, the kids could enjoy” 

“Okay then” 

They both smiled. They stood up and walked towards their kids. 

“Time to go home Skye” Phil said. 

When he saw his daughter frown he couldn’t help laughing out. 

“Don’t worry! You’ll get to meet him tomorrow evening, he’s gonna be coming to our home” 

“Really?” Skye and Leo asked together, a mixture of shock and surprise and happiness on their faces. 

“Yup! If you’d like to” May replied reaching out to hold Leo’s hand as they walked out. 

“I’d love it mom, Skye! I’m gonna get my Bruce and Captain America toys and we could play together” 

“Okay” Skye replied enthusiastically. 

Once they reached the parking zone Phil said “I’ll call you”. They had exchanged their numbers once they had decided to go out on a date. Melinda nodded and smiled back. 

“Take Care, bye Skye” she said waving to Skye. 

“Bye and thank you” Skye said waving back. 

As Melinda and Leo went towards their car, they halted in between and Leo came running back to Phil. 

“Umm I forgot to ask but ... do you really have GH-325 in your blood?” he asked curiously. 

Phil laughed out as he looked up at May who had an “I told you so” expression on her face. 

“I don’t but Agent Casper does” Phil told him. 

Leo nodded his head as if understanding well and then a moment later said “Okay then, bye!” 

Phil and Skye saw them board their car and leave, and then Phil cooped up Skye into his arms as they walked towards their car. 

“This is a really pretty heart shaped rock, daddy” Skye said holding and staring at the rock Melinda had helped her get. 

“It is kiddo” he replied, glad about the way his day had ended. 

___________


End file.
